The Galapagos Islands are world-famous as a laboratory of biological evolution. Some 30 percent of the plants, 80 percent of the land birds and 97 percent of the reptiles on this remote archipelago are found nowhere else on Earth. Perhaps the most striking example is the islands' iconic giant tortoises, which often live to ages over 100 years in the wild.

The world's oldest living goldfish has lost its crown - to a pair who have been swimming in the same tank for 40 years. Splash the goldfish , from Worcestershire made headlines around the globe, when it emerged he was 38.

Humans like to think that they rule the planet and are hard wired to do so. But our stewardship has been anything but successful. The last major extinction event, 66 million years ago, was caused by a meteorite. But the next mass extinction event, which is under way right now, is our fault.

Twitter's been on fire with people amazed by cats that seem compelled to park themselves in squares of tape marked out on the floor. These felines appear powerless to resist the call of the #CatSquare. This social media fascination is a variation on a question I heard over and over as a panelist on Animal Planet's "America's Cutest Pets" series.